Juices incorporating early season orange cultivars

ABSTRACT

Orange juice is provided which includes as a component juice extracted from a very early season round orange cultivar which is not a Hamlin cultivar. The juice extracted from such very early season cultivar has sensory attributes which are superior to those of Hamlin fresh juice. The very early season juice has a Brix-to-acid ratio and a color intensity in excess of those provided by Hamlin cultivars which are harvested at the same time as the very early season cultivar. Preferred very early season cultivars are within the Seleta family or are Westin cultivars or are Ruby Nucellar cultivars.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.10/456,859, filed Jun. 6, 2003, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S.application Ser. No. 09/311,956, filed May 14, 1999, the entiredisclosures of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention generally relates to juices which are prepared fromorange juice sources which incorporate juices from early season orangetree cultivars which have been discovered to exhibit improvements overtraditional early season round oranges, especially Hamlin round oranges.Included are juices which have not been subjected to procedures whichconcentrate the juice. In the citrus industry, these types of juiceproducts are known as being “not from concentrate” juices. So called“from concentrate” juices are included for some of these early seasoncultivars. More particularly, the invention relates to an improved earlyseason juices which consistently exhibit important sensory improvementsand unusually high Color Number values. These enhancements areparticularly valuable due to their being provided by fresh juice sourcesaccording to the invention during the time period which is early in theorange fruit bearing or harvest season.

When considering the not from concentrate orange juice industry, apersistent problem is the maintenance of superior sensory attributes anda consistent, deep rich orange color throughout the year. This problemis especially difficult during the early fruit-harvesting season oforange trees. It will be appreciated that different varieties orcultivars of orange trees bear harvest-ready fruit at somewhat differenttimes within the overall citrus growing season. In the NorthernHemisphere, traditionally the overall citrus growing season extendsbetween approximately October and June. Generally speaking, Valenciaround oranges can be considered to provide a bench mark for orange juicequality, both with respect to analytical properties and sensoryproperties. Many not from concentrate juices are a blend of freshlysqueezed juice with stored juice, which can be stored Valencia juice,for example. Valencia cultivars tend to have a growing season which isin a later portion of the overall round orange harvest season. A typicalValencia season runs between about late February and early June. Otherround oranges such as Hamlin oranges are early season harvested forfreshly squeezed orange juice, such as during approximately the monthsof October, November and December. Certain orange cultivars such asPineapple oranges have a mid-season harvest characteristic, runningbetween about January and early March.

In the not from concentrate juice industry, particularly when Valenciaoranges are not yet in season, the freshly squeezed juice component canbe one of these earlier maturing varieties. At present, the principalearly season variety for providing the freshly squeezed orange juicecomponent is the Hamlin variety. One of the drawbacks of Hamlin roundoranges is that a Hamlin round orange crop does not, in general, meetall of the quality standards of Valencia round oranges. Some of theserelate to sensory attributes; others relate to chemical analyses and tocolor.

Sensory attributes include data which can relate to sweetness/tartnessbalance, strength of orange flavor, and the like, as well as othersensory detectible components. Sensory attributes can be gauged byrecognized testing procedures, typically of a type which rely upon thedetection of specific sensory components by trained panels. Tabulationsof the responses of the panelists provide flavor and sensory profileresults which quantify the sensory characteristics of the juices. Theseresults allow a generally objective evaluation of important sensorycomponents such as green character, bitterness, chemical notes, rawflavors, total orange flavors, and the like.

Important chemical analysis standards include total minimum solidspercentage (or Brix), citric acid content, and Brix to acid ratio (orBAR). Other analysis parameters include percentage of oil and percentageof vitamin C. Chemical analyses have long been used in the citrusindustry to gauge characteristics of the chemical make-up of a fruit orjuice. It will be appreciated that each of these characteristics is wellunderstood in the fruit and produce industries, and especially withinthe citrus fruit and commercial juice industry. They long have beenimportant in judging the quality of fruit. For example, a Brixdifference of 0.8° is detectible, from a sensory point of view, whencomparing different orange juice products.

Color is a property of juices which can be measured in an objectivemanner for purposes of evaluating the color acceptability of aparticular type of juice. In the case of citrus juices, the industrygenerally recognizes a parameter referred to as Color Number. Details ofcolor determination, including procedures, equipment and standards, arefound in Redd, Hendrix and Hendrix, Quality Control Manual for CitrusProcessing Plants, Volume 1: Regulation, Citrus Methodology,Microbiology, Conversion Charts, Tables, Other; 1986; Intercit., Inc.,Safety Harbor, Fla. A colorimeter is a primary component of the ColorNumber determination procedure. Redd et al provides specific calibrationinformation for a variety of such instruments, including HunterLab ModelD45, HunterLab Model D45D2, HunterLab LabScan Colorimeter Model LS-5100,MacBeth Color-Eye Colorimeter Model 1500 and Minolta PortableColorimeter Model Chroma Meter II Reflectants/CR 100.

These objective Color Number data are important components ofcategorizing single strength orange juice as, for example, Grade A orGrade B juice. A Grade B orange juice has a Color Number of between 32and 35 CN units. A Grade A orange juice has a Color Number of between 36and 40 CN units. A high quality not from concentrate orange juice seeksto meet the Grade A standard, although this is not always possible,particularly for the earlier season juices.

In addition, it has come to be appreciated through objective testingthat juice color has an important impact on consumer liking of orangejuice. Sensory tests which evaluated juice properties concluded thatorange juice color intensity is important to consumer acceptance andpreference. Generally speaking, consumer liking for orange juiceincreases as the color becomes darker and more orange. It has beendetermined that consumers can clearly detect an increase in color of aslow as 1 Color Number or Color Value unit. The testing included juiceshaving various Color Numbers, ranging between about 34 CN to about 42CN. Juices having a higher Color Number in a comparison set were chosenas more desirable. Accordingly, it now has come to be appreciated thatcolor intensity is a very important characteristic of orange juiceproducts in general and of not from concentrate orange juice inparticular.

These various characteristics are very important in maintaining orenhancing consumer acceptance of orange juice. These characteristics ofsensory profile, chemical analysis standards, and color intensity eachare important to evaluating juice quality, Even though color has beenfound to be very important in consumer acceptance, superior colorintensity should not be achieved at the expense of these othercharacteristics which relate to sensory qualities and chemical analysisstandards.

When these factors are considered in connection with early seasonextracted orange juice, it would be extremely valuable to be able tomaintain, and better still to improve upon, sensory, chemical and colorparameters and characteristics for a freshly squeezed juice blendcomponent, when gauged against the current industry standard earlyseason orange source. For example, color scores are traditionally lowfor early season round oranges, particularly Hamlin round oranges. Whilecolor has been determined to be an important component of consumeracceptance of orange juice, color enhancement cannot be achieved at theexpense of maintaining the other characteristics of a first-class notfrom concentrate orange juice. It is also important that the colorenhancement be achieved without the use of artificial colorants orcoloring components which disqualify the orange juice product fromfalling within the standard of identity of not from concentrate orangejuice. Otherwise, color enhancement would seriously negatively impact onthe orange juice.

Accordingly, an important need exists for an approach to enhance earlyseason juice collections in their sensory attributes and in their color,especially in not from concentrate orange juice products. Theseenhancements provide such products with important, tangible andeconomically valuable benefits when compared with previously availablenot from concentrate juice products, as well as “from concentrate”orange juice products and the like. It is also important that theseimprovements, including color enhancement, be achieved in a fullynatural manner and in a way which is fully consistent with the standardof identity of not from concentrate orange juice, particularly whendealing with early season round orange harvests.

Additionally, important advantages would be realized by being able tomeet the standards for freshly squeezed orange juice for not fromconcentrate orange juice during a time period which is earlier than thatof the long-accepted early season cultivar, Hamlin round oranges. Thiswould allow an advancement of the date by which freshly squeezed juicecan be incorporated into not from concentrate orange juice, which wouldbenefit the not from concentrate orange juice category. To do sorequires that such a freshly squeezed juice source would also be able tomaintain or exceed sensory and chemical characteristics of at leastso-called early season juices, even during such a very early harvesttime period which is earlier than that of the current so-called earlyseason juices. Accordingly, there is a need for an exceptionally earlyseason source for orange juice.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, very early season not fromconcentrate orange juice is provided which has exceptional sensorycharacteristics and early season color. These very early seasonattributes are superior to those of Hamlin round oranges. This includesextracting the juice from round orange cultivar fruit that has beendiscovered to possess very early season sensory attributes and colorintensity which are superior to those of round orange cultivars whichhave been in use heretofore. These cultivars possessing superior veryearly season color have been found to include cultivars within theSeleta family of cultivars. Non-Seleta cultivars which have been foundto be useful along these lines are Westin round oranges and RubyNucellar round oranges. The extracted orange juice from these very earlyseason superior sensory and color cultivars have a Color Number of atleast 33 CN units. This very early season juice can be blended withother juice sources. The juices are of the not from concentrate type andhave exceptional sensory characteristics and a color value above, orjust below the color standards for Grade A orange juice.

Also included is a method of preparing an orange juice productincorporating an early season orange cultivar which can be of the fromconcentrate type. This includes harvesting a very early season orangecultivar having juice with early season color of greater intensity thanHamlin orange juice while also exhibiting sensory qualities superior tothe sensory qualities of Hamlin orange juice, which cultivar is withinthe Seleta family of cultivars, or a combination of these very earlyseason cultivars. Juice is extracted and collected from a volume ofthese very early season oranges.

When desired, at least about 5 volume percent, based on the total volumeof the orange juice product, of said extracted early season orange juiceis blended with another orange juice source in order to provide ablended orange juice product. Preferably, this blended juice productexhibits an enhanced sensory profile and/or a color Number in excess of33 CN units.

It is a general object of the present invention to provide improvedearly season not from concentrate orange juice.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved method bywhich very early season not from concentrate orange juice sensoryattributes are improved over those provided by using Hamlin round orangejuice as a freshly squeezed early season cultivar of the orange juice.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved method bywhich very early season not from concentrate orange juice color isimproved over that available from using Hamlin round orange juice as afreshly squeezed early season cultivar of the orange juice.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved notfrom concentrate orange juice which has enhanced early season sensorycharacteristics and/or chemical attributes and thus enhanced value.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved notfrom concentrate orange juice which has enhanced early season color andthus enhanced value.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved veryearly season not from concentrate orange juice which meets governmentalcrop maturity criteria, such as Brix-to-acid ratio and citric acidpercentage, earlier in the season than do currently used early seasonround orange cultivars.

Another object of the invention is to provide very early season freshlysqueezed orange juice products which maintain and usually exceed sensorycharacteristics of traditional early season freshly squeezed orangejuice such as Hamlin juice.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved orangejuice product which has enhanced sensory characteristics and/or chemicalattributes and/or enhanced color, and thus enhanced value.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will be apparent from and clearly understood through aconsideration of the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the course of this description, reference will be made to theattached drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plot of Brix values for five different cultivars, showingthe progression of Brix development during a portion of a Crop A growingseason;

FIG. 2 is a plot of the ratio of Brix to citric acid content for Crop A;

FIG. 3 is a plot of juice Color Number for the Crop A cultivars showingcolor development during the indicated time period;

FIG. 4 is a plot of Brix values for five different cultivars, showingthe progression of Brix development during a portion of a Crop B growingseason;

FIG. 5 is a plot of citric acid values showing acid progression for thecultivars of Crop B during the indicated growing season;

FIG. 6 is a plot of the ratio of Brix to citric acid content for Crop B;

FIG. 7 is a plot of juice Color Number for the Crop B cultivars showingcolor development during the indicated time period;

FIG. 8 is a plot of Brix values for five different cultivars, showingthe progression of Brix development during a portion of a Crop C growingseason;

FIG. 9 is a plot of the ratio of Brix to citric acid content for Crop C;

FIG. 10 is a plot of juice Color Number for the Crop C cultivars showingcolor development during the indicated time period;

FIG. 11 is a further plot of the data in FIG. 6 and also illustratingwhen each Crop B cultivar met governmental BAR standards;

FIG. 12 is a further plot of BAR data for Crop C, also showinggovernmental BAR standards;

FIG. 13A is a regression analysis plot of feeling factors sensory datafor blends including varying levels of Ruby Nucellar juice;

FIG. 13B is a regression analysis plot of sour notes sensory data forblends including varying levels of Ruby Nucellar juice;

FIG. 13C is a regression analysis plot of chemical notes sensory datafor blends including varying levels of Ruby Nucellar juice;

FIG. 13D is a regression analysis plot of microbiological notes sensorydata for blends including varying levels of Ruby Nucellar juice;

FIG. 13E is a regression analysis plot of cooked orange notes sensorydata for blends including varying levels of Ruby Nucellar juice;

FIG. 14A is a regression analysis plot of raw orange notes sensory datafor blends including varying levels of Earlygold juice; and

FIG. 14B is a regression analysis plot of bitter notes sensory data forblends including varying levels of Earlygold juice.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Orange juice in accordance with the present invention incorporates juicefrom round orange cultivars which are very early season varieties thatcan be harvested during a season approximately that of Hamlin roundorange cultivars, or earlier. Unlike Hamlin round orange cultivars,however, the cultivars concerning the present invention are far superiorin very early season properties than are Hamlin round oranges. These areadvantageous properties which are instrumental in providing orangejuice, especially advantageously including not from concentrate orangejuice, which is of enhanced value for very early season use. Alsoadvantageous is the fact that juices according to the invention exhibitflavor, color and chemical properties which are improved when comparedwith those provided when only Hamlin round oranges are incorporated.Accordingly, enhanced properties are imparted to the not fromconcentrate orange juice in accordance with the present inventionwithout detracting from the other positive properties andcharacteristics of orange juice in general. When the juice is of the notfrom concentrate type, the result is an early season not fromconcentrate orange juice which is improved over that currentlyavailable, which includes incorporating freshly squeezed Hamlin orangejuice.

Very early season round orange cultivars which are used in the processand included in the juice according to the present invention providejuice having improved sensory attributes, enhanced chemical properties,and Color Number values which are consistently superior to theseproperties of Hamlin juice substantially throughout the harvest seasonfor these very early round oranges. Cultivars of the invention have beenfound to possess each of superior sensory qualities, exceptional earlyseason color, and greater Brix to acid ratios. These cultivars arevariously referred to herein by the general terms “early seasoncultivars” or “very early season cultivars.” It will be understood thatthese terms exclude Hamlin round orange varieties which, although anearly season fruit, do not possess the other properties of these veryearly season cultivars.

With more particular reference to these very early season cultivars,they exhibit early season color which is more intense than the earlyseason color of juice extracted from Hamlin round oranges, particularlyduring the early harvest season months of October and November. Thejuice from these very early season cultivars also exhibits the minimumtotal solids weight percentages (or minimum Brix values) which are inexcess of those provided by juice from Hamlin round oranges. Typically,these very early season cultivars satisfy Brix to acid ratio (BAR)requirements of the State of Florida Department of Agriculture at a timein the harvest season prior to that at which such standard is achievedby Hamlin round orange cultivars. It will be appreciated that Brix is awell-recognized parameter by which the quality of fruits includingcitrus fruits such as oranges is measured. A Brix measurement is aminimum total solids percentage by weight, which is at times looselyequated to sweetness or sugars present in the fruit. It is alsogenerally appreciated that the acid in the Brix to acid ratio is citricacid.

As an example of the citrus fruit maturity requirements of the FloridaDepartment of Agriculture and Consumer Services, orange standards ofthis agency for a particular recent growing season were as follows. Fororanges harvested between August 1 and October 31, the minimum totalsolids are permitted vary between 9.0° Brix and below 11.0° Brix.Furthermore, these State of Florida specifications specify that acorresponding minimum BAR must be met for each Brix value within thisrange. Different standards apply for different stages of the year. Moreparticularly, the standards referred to herein are in accordance withthe following Table I. TABLE I ROUND ORANGE MATURITY CHART Brix BARAugust 1-October 31 9.0 to not including 9.1 10.00 to 1  9.1 to notincluding 9.2 9.95 to 1 9.2 to not including 9.3 9.90 to 1 9.3 to notincluding 9.4 9.85 to 1 9.4 to not including 9.5 9.80 to 1 9.5 to notincluding 9.6 9.75 to 1 9.6 to not including 9.7 9.70 to 1 9.7 to notincluding 9.8 9.65 to 1 9.8 to not including 9.9 9.60 to 1  9.9 to notincluding 10.0 9.55 to 1 10.0 to not including 10.1 9.50 to 1 10.1 tonot including 10.2 9.45 to 1 10.2 to not including 10.3 9.40 to 1 10.3to not including 10.4 9.35 to 1 10.4 to not including 10.5 9.30 to 110.5 to not including 10.6 9.25 to 1 10.6 to not including 10.7 9.20 to1 10.7 to not including 10.8 9.15 to 1 10.8 to not including 10.9 9.10to 1 10.9 to not including 11.0 9.05 to 1 November 1-November 15 8.7 tonot including 8.8 10.15 to 1  8.8 to not including 8.9 10.10 to 1  8.9to not including 9.0 10.05 to 1  November 16-November 30 8.5 to notincluding 8.6 10.25 to 1  8.6 to not including 8.7 10.20 to 1  December1-July 31 8.0 to not including 8.1 10.50 to 1  8.1 to not including 8.210.45 to 1  8.2 to not including 8.3 10.40 to 1  8.3 to not including8.4 10.35 to 1  8.4 to not including 8.5 10.30 to 1 

The very early season cultivars meet or exceed the round orangestandards as noted in Table I, typically at a date earlier than they aremet by Hamlin round oranges. This is illustrated in FIG. 11 and FIG. 12,discussed in Examples 2 and 3.

These very early season cultivars typically are within the Seleta familyof cultivars. Juices from one or a combination of these cultivars areincluded. Examples of members of the Seleta family of cultivars includeSeleta Branca, Seleta Coroa-do-Rei, Seleta de Itaborai and SeletaVermelha. Also included for not from concentrate juice products are aRuby Nucellar cultivar and a Westin cultivar. Preferred very earlyseason cultivars for not from concentrate products are Seleta deItaborai; Ruby Nucellar and Westin. The Seleta Vermelha early seasoncultivar is at times identified under the name “Earlygold”. It remainswithin the Seleta family of round orange cultivars.

It will be appreciated that large-scale commercial production of notfrom concentrate orange juice typically includes a blend operation. Forexample, in the fall of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, storedjuice supplies are blended with early season fresh juice in order toprovide the not from concentrate orange juice which is filled intocartons for distribution and consumption by the consumer. Typically, inthe early months of the fresh juice harvest season, this fresh juicesupply is from Hamlin round oranges. Hamlin round oranges have a peakharvest season between about mid-October and March. The very earlyseason cultivars have a significantly earlier peak harvest season,namely from September through November. The very early season cultivarsalso exhibit relatively high Color Numbers during their peak harvestseason. Typically, the maximum Color Numbers achieved by the very earlyseason cultivars during this peak harvest season are higher than themaximum Color Numbers achieved by Hamlin oranges during the samerespective time periods. For example, during this time frame, the juicefrom Hamlin round oranges has a peak color number of about 32 CN. Theearly season cultivars have a higher color number, typically at least 33CN and above at a comparable time of the year.

Within the context of commercial production of not from concentrateorange juice during this early season time frame, a typical target ColorNumber for the in-carton not from concentrate orange juice is at least36 CN. It will be appreciated that, because such production is dependentupon naturally occurring juice sources which have not been concentrated,this target is not always strictly met and at times can be between 35 CNto about 37 CN, especially within this early season time frame. It willbe further appreciated that the freshly squeezed juice, especiallywithin this early season time frame, is blended with stored juice, suchas that which has been frozen as whole juice or stored as whole juice.In a production within which only Hamlin juice sources having a maximumColor Number of 32 CN are used as the fresh juice component of the notfrom concentrate blend, a greater proportion of stored juice is requiredthan when the fresh juice component is from one of the very early seasoncultivars, if the target Color Number is to be achieved by the not fromconcentrate blend.

Advantageously, the higher early season Color Number values which arecharacteristic of the very early season cultivars of the invention willpermit either a larger relative percentage of fresh juice or a cartonedproduct having a higher Color Number than otherwise obtainable with onlyHamlin juice as the fresh juice source. Accordingly, in one aspect ofthe invention, the early season cultivar juice can be blended withHamlin juice sources in order to provide an early season fresh juicesource which has an increased color number. Alternatively, the earlyseason cultivars can be the sole source of the fresh juice going intothe cartoned blend.

Importantly, uses of the very early season cultivars in preparing notfrom concentrate orange juice products is made even more advantageousbecause of other properties of these early season cultivars. These earlyseason cultivars achieve a BAR level which satisfies regulatoryrequirements for fruit maturity at a time which is earlier in thegrowing season than traditional early season cultivars such as Hamlinround oranges. This facilitates the ability of the fresh juice to meetgovernmental regulations and to provide a product which is more likelyto satisfy consumer standards as well.

Additionally, juices prepared from the early season cultivars exhibitsensory evaluation results which are in most respects detectablysuperior to those of Hamlin round orange juices. The sensory superiorityof the very early season cultivars is illustrated when their juices areblended with Hamlin juice. Blends at many various levels are possible.Practically, blends having between about 5 and about 70 volume percentof the total volume of the blended juice product will be practiced,typically between about 5 and about 40 volume percent. Ideal volumeratios will vary somewhat for different ones of the very early seasoncultivars. For some very early season cultivars, a more desirable amountis between about 30 and about 70 volume percent within the blend.

Objective sensory qualities are expressed in terms of several specificsensory characteristics which are identifiable by trained sensorypanels. Surprisingly, descriptive sensory analyses have shown thataddition of very early season cultivars made favorable qualityimprovements to early season Hamlin juice. Overall trends in this regardinclude reduced green character, bitterness and chemical notes, as wellas trends toward increased raw and total orange flavors.

Exemplary illustrations of the disclosure herein are provided in thefollowing examples.

EXAMPLE 1

Quantities of each of five different round orange cultivars wereharvested on several different dates between September and Januaryduring the same growing season. Juice was recovered from each group ofcultivars or each harvest date. Each juice was analyzed for thefollowing: Brix as ° Brix, acid as weight percent citric acid, color asColor Number; oil as weight percent d-limonene; and vitamin C in mg/100ml of juice. These are identified as Crop A results. The data arereported in Table II. In addition, the Brix, BAR and Color Number dataare plotted in FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, respectively. TABLE II (CROPA) Acid (% Color VARIETY DATE Brix wt) BAR (CV) Oil Vitamin C Hamlin05-Sept 8.90 1.46 5.97 30.50 0.032 51.26 19-Sept 9.22 1.20 7.71 31.880.019 54.55 03-Oct 9.09 1.09 8.41 32.58 0.020 50.42 16-Oct 9.31 0.9210.25 31.85 0.004 50.81 06-Nov 9.80 0.78 12.64 33.30 0.004 51.28 18-Nov10.06 0.77 13.02 33.83 0.004 48.16 09-Dec 10.33 0.74 13.90 35.30 0.00447.00 06-Jan 10.68 0.64 16.64 35.62 0.005 48.96 Westin 05-Sept 8.90 1.356.58 30.23 0.044 43.65 19-Sept 9.55 1.09 8.79 32.03 0.031 44.51 03-Oct9.85 0.93 10.62 33.57 0.024 41.52 16-Oct 10.10 0.85 12.07 33.23 0.00339.67 06-Nov 10.53 0.65 16.38 34.47 0.002 40.23 18-Nov 10.93 0.66 16.6735.23 0.003 40.92 09-Dec 11.46 0.61 18.96 36.30 0.004 39.03 06-Jan 11.580.55 21.07 37.37 0.003 38.67 Ruby- 05-Sept 9.13 1.28 7.12 33.02 0.06441.67 Nucellar 19-Sept 9.43 1.03 9.18 33.40 0.070 40.38 03-Oct 9.66 0.9110.73 34.92 0.065 42.98 16-Oct 9.92 0.73 13.66 34.88 0.008 39.19 06-Nov10.30 0.63 16.45 35.65 0.006 38.21 18-Nov 10.50 0.62 16.94 36.58 0.00937.66 09-Dec 10.80 0.60 17.95 36.62 0.011 36.02 06-Jan 11.06 0.52 21.3237.38 0.011 35.12 Vermelha 05-Sept 9.42 1.36 6.96 33.02 0.077 44.19(Earlygold) 19-Sept 9.57 1.12 8.62 33.38 0.064 44.63 03-Oct 10.02 0.9510.66 34.92 0.051 43.23 16-Oct 9.98 0.76 13.28 34.83 0.010 41.64 06-Nov10.34 0.67 15.52 35.90 0.006 41.17 18-Nov 10.60 0.65 16.44 36.45 0.00840.05 09-Dec 11.13 0.62 18.11 37.10 0.010 39.64 06-Jan 11.46 0.53 21.8337.30 0.013 40.58 Itaborai 05-Sept 9.15 1.39 6.62 33.17 0.066 41.2919-Sept 9.30 1.23 7.62 33.98 0.060 40.92 03-Oct 9.60 0.98 9.90 35.500.052 39.70 16-Oct 9.88 0.85 11.68 35.10 0.008 38.65 06-Nov 10.14 0.7114.31 36.40 0.006 36.80 18-Nov 10.32 0.70 14.83 36.85. 0.007 36.7509-Dec 10.66 0.69 15.56 37.05 0.011 34.73 06-Jan 11.19 0.60 18.84 37.900.010 33.64

From FIG. 1, it will be noted that each of the very early seasoncultivars exhibited Brix values equal to or greater than that of theHamlin round oranges. This is especially evident in the general Octobertime frame. Similar observations can be made with respect to the BARdata reported in FIG. 2. FIG. 3 shows that, with the exception of veryearly harvests, the juice Color Number is higher for each of the veryearly season cultivars than for the Hamlin juice. In general, thisdifference is about one Color Number or greater. This importantadvantageous effect is especially evident in the general October andNovember time frame, which is important for early season fresh juicesupplies.

EXAMPLE 2

Additional pieces of fruit from the round orange cultivars of Example 1are categorized as Crop B fruit. Extraction and analysis were carriedout, results being reported in Table III. TABLE III (CROP B) VIT VARIETYDATE BRIX ACID BAR COLOR OIL C HAMLIN 01-Sept 9.47 1.34 7.07 30.80 0.00664.31 15-Sept 9.11 1.06 8.64 31.40 0.005 53.24 02-Oct 8.73 1.01 8.8532.53 0.010 47.86 23-Oct 9.53 0.80 11.96 33.03 0.004 49.44 20-Nov 10.290.76 13.56 33.90 0.005 39.05 11-Dec 10.40 0.68 15.38 35.13 0.005 49.81WESTIN 01-Sept 9.29 1.45 6.41 31.40 0.002 47.73 15-Sept 9.15 1.01 9.1631.80 0.005 47.90 02-Oct 9.40 0.85 11.12 33.53 0.004 42.78 23-Oct 9.980.73 13.82 34.53 0.004 41.75 20-Nov 10.90 0.67 16.45 35.63 0.004 39.4811-Dec 11.19 0.59 19.07 37.40 0.005 42.01 RUBY 15-Sept 8.08 0.88 9.2433.15 0.011 36.44 02-Oct 8.61 0.50 12.20 34.73 0.009 36.89 23-Oct 9.330.65 14.47 34.77 0.007 35.52 20-Nov 10.17 0.54 18.77 35.60 0.008 30.4611-Dec 10.03 0.48 21.16 36.00 0.011 34.73 VERMELHA 15-Sept 8.80 0.989.02 33.50 0.008 41.72 (Earlygold) 02-Oct 9.23 0.81 11.44 34.93 0.01041.66 23-Oct 9.98 0.75 13.32 35.33 0.010 41.81 20-Nov 10.86 0.62 17.7636.27 0.010 42.06 11-Dec 11.32 0.59 19.43 37.17 0.013 42.90 ITABORAI15-Sept 8.41 1.05 8.08 33.40 0.008 36.21 02-Oct 9.00 0.85 10.67 34.900.007 37.66 23-Oct 9.74 0.71 13.83 35.60 0.008 37.14 20-Nov 10.30 0.6515.95 36.67 0.008 32.40 11-Dec 10.56 0.64 16.70 37.30 0.012 34.98

Certain of these data are plotted as follows. FIG. 4 shows Brix values.FIG. 5 shows citric acid percentage. FIG. 6 shows BAR values, and FIG. 7shows the Color Number data. In the October and November time frames,FIG. 4 shows that the Brix value for each of the very early seasoncultivars is about the same as or greater than that for the Hamlinfruit. As is evident from FIG. 5, the acid percentage is similar foreach of the five cultivars, except for the Ruby Nucellar cultivar,especially in the October time frame, although the BAR data illustratedin FIG. 6 show that the BAR data for the Ruby Nucellar is noticeablysuperior to that of Hamlin and about the same or somewhat better thanthat for the other three very early season cultivars for the Crop Bresults. FIG. 7 shows the Color Number advantage of the very earlyseason cultivars when compared with Hamlin juice of this Crop B testing.In the October and November time frame, the very early season cultivarshave a Color Number advantage of at least 1 over the Hamlin juice. Insome instances, the Color Number advantage is 2 CV or more.

FIG. 11 expands the scale of the BAR data plotted in FIG. 6. Also addedis the orange standard information from Table I during the earliestseason time frame. It is noted that the Hamlin harvest did not achievethe orange standard for BAR until about mid-October, whereas theItaborai harvest achieved the BAR standard in mid-to-late September,with the other three very early season cultivar harvests reaching theBAR standard by mid-September for this Crop B fruit.

EXAMPLE 3

Crop C data for these same five cultivars are reported in Table IV.TABLE IV (CROP C) VIT VARIETY DATE BRIX ACID BAR COLOR OIL C HAMLIN18-Sept 8.77 1.34 6.54 31.53 — — 07-Oct 8.91 1.00 8.91 32.00 0.004 48.6004-Nov 9.65 0.86 11.23 33.03 0.005 48.82 19-Nov 10.18 0.83 12.41 34.5 —47.42 30-Nov 10.4 0.79 13.39 34.60 0.004 48.33 14-Dec 10.94 0.72 15.335.5 0.003 45.17 WESTIN 18-Sept 8.81 1.21 7.32 31.50 — — 07-Oct 8.950.90 10.07 32.43 0.003 38.15 04-Nov 10.64 0.69 15.48 34.23 0.004 42.4219-Nov 10.97 0.64 17.14 35.70 — 49.45 30-Nov 11.44 0.62 18.46 36.400.005 38.47 14-Dec 11.51 0.6 19.15 36.70 0.004 35.22 RUBY 18-Sept 8.841.04 8.55 33.57 — — 07-Oct 9.23 0.76 12.18 33.50 0.007 36.32 04-Nov10.06 0.67 15.18 34.97 0.009 36.13 19-Nov 10.63 0.65 16.28 35.50 — 36.6 30-Nov 11.15 0.57 19.64 36.27 0.017 37.99 14-Dec 11.67 0.58 20.14 35.170.013 33.67 VERMELHA 18-Sept 9.45 1.18 8.01 33.67 — — (Earlygold) 07-Oct9.84 0.83 11.81 33.70 0.008 43.31 04-Nov 10.39 0.70 14.82 34.97 0.00843.12 19-Nov 11.43 0.74 15.86 35.30 — 39.59 30-Nov 11.57 0.64 18.1636.37 0.013 44.52 14-Dec 12.12 0.57 21.15 35.63 0.014 40.90 ITABORAI18-Sept 9.03 0.14 7.94 33.97 — — 07-Oct 9.33 0.89 10.47 34.10 0.00936.16 04-Nov 10.16 0.73 13.99 35.67 0.008 35.25 19-Nov 10.85 0.71 15.3936.57 — 39.59 30-Nov 11.11 0.66 16.86 37.27 0.012 35.73 14-Dec 11.610.64 18.19 36.33 0.011 32.42

FIG. 8 shows Brix data from Table IV, which indicates that each of thefour very early season cultivars had Brix properties equal to orsuperior to those of the Hamlin fruit. FIG. 9 shows BAR data for theCrop C fruit, with the four very early season cultivars having higherBAR values than the Hamlin fruit. FIG. 10 shows that the Color Value forthe Hamlin juice is noticeably less than that for the other Crop Cjuice. With a few exceptions, this advantage of the early seasoncultivars is 1 CV or greater.

FIG. 12 is similar to FIG. 11 for Crop C data. The Hamlin harvest didnot achieve the BAR orange standard until mid-October, whereas theWestin and Ruby Nucellar harvests achieved this BAR standard inlate-September and the Seleta harvests achieved this BAR standard inmid-to-late September.

EXAMPLE 4

Sensory evaluations were made for Crop A, Crop B and Crop C. Trainedsensory panel ratings were made for various characteristics of the juicefrom each of the five cultivars Hamlin, Westin, Ruby Nucellar, Vermelhaand Itaborai. The descriptive sensory analyses were made in terms inaccordance with the following terms: Orange component consisted of twocategories, namely orange raw and orange peel oil. Other citrus rangedbetween lemon lime or grapefruit (one end of this scale) to tangerine(at the other end of this scale), the middle of the scale being orange.Other fruit notes were detected when present, with orange in the middleof this scale. Sweet, sour and bitter notes were reported. Anothersensory analysis was for other aromatics, the comments associated withthis sensory analysis parameter ranging from “green, sulfur” (at oneundesirable end of the scale) to “painty” (at the other undesirable endof the scale). The middle, most desirable section of this scale isdenoted as floral.

Also generated were “overall quality” scores. Each overall quality scoreis on a scale of −2 to +2. For early season fresh juice supplies to beblended with stored juice, an overall quality score which is closer tozero, but not necessarily positive, is an acceptable overall qualityscore. This is due in part because the stored juice typically has anoverall quality score of about zero or above.

Results from Crops A, B and C were averaged for fruit harvested inOctober, the sensory evaluations having taken place between aboutOctober 15 and November 1. This average overall quality score for theHamlin, Westin and Ruby Nucellar varieties was −1.2. For Seleta deItaborai and Seleta Vermelha, the average overall quality score was−1.1.

Average overall quality scores for November were also determined for aperiod between about November 1 and November 20. For the Hamlin andSeleta de Itaborai varieties, the average overall quality score was−0.7. For Seleta Vermelha, the average overall quality score was −0.8.For the Ruby Nucellar variety, the average overall quality score was−0.6, and for the Westin variety, the average overall quality score was−0.5.

These data show that, for sensory evaluations carried out on October andNovember harvests, the early variety cultivars have overall qualityscores which are better than or comparable to those of the Hamlinvariety. This indicates that substitution of any of these four veryearly season varieties for some or all of Hamlin freshly squeezed juicein a not from concentrate orange juice product will enhance and notdetrimentally impact the sensory evaluation or taste of the not fromconcentrate orange juice.

EXAMPLE 5

Pieces of fruit harvested in early-to-mid October in the NorthernHemisphere were used in making base juices and juice blends. These areidentified as Crop D fruit. Juice quality analyses for each of the fivebase juices are reported in Table V. TABLE V (CROP D) VIT VARIETY DATEBRIX ACID BAR COLOR OIL C HAMLIN 14-Oct 8.63 0.91 9.48 33.7 0.004 44.02WESTIN 14-Oct 9.07 0.86 10.55 34.6 0.004 35.17 RUBY 14-Oct 8.84 0.7112.45 35.5 0.009 35.14 VERMELHA 14-Oct 9.64 0.80 12.05 35.3 0.009 40.80(Earlygold) ITABORAI 14-Oct 9.37 0.87 10.77 35.8 0.012 37.90

Juice quality analyses for blends of these five juices are found inTable VI. The blends are of Hamlin juice with 0 volume percent of theother cultivars or with 10 volume percent, 30 volume percent, or 60volume percent of each one of the very early season cultivars. TABLE VI(CROP D) VIT VARIETY DATE BRIX ACID BAR COLOR OIL C HAMLIN 14-Oct 8.630.91 9.48 33.7 0.004 44.02 10% WESTIN 14-Oct 8.56 0.92 9.30 33.9 — 42.9730% WESTIN ″ 8.73 0.92 9.49 34.0 — 42.72 60% WESTIN ″ 8.89 0.92 9.6634.3 — 40.93 10% RUBY ″ 8.58 0.91 9.43 34.0 — 43.16 30% RUBY ″ 8.41 0.8310.13 34.5 — 40.77 60% RUBY ″ 8.51 0.77 11.05 34.9 — 38.23 10% ″ 8.550.89 9.61 34.1 — 43.66 EARLYGOLD 30% ″ 8.89 0.86 10.34 34.4 — 42.91EARLYGOLD 60% ″ 9.15 0.83 11.02 34.9 — 42.11 EARLYGOLD 10% ″ 9.45 0.929.18 34.1 — 43.14 ITABORAI 30% ″ 8.64 0.90 9.60 34.5 — 42.14 ITABORAI60% ″ 8.91 0.89 10.01 35.0 — 59.46 ITABORAI

EXAMPLE 6

The blends of Westin and Hamlin juices which are specified in Example 5were evaluated by the sensory panel using the descriptive sensoryanalysis. Each blend was compared with 100% Hamlin juice as the control.The addition of the Westin juice at all blend levels was found by thepanel to have a reduction in green character. For the control, the greencharacter value was 1.2. For the 10% Westin and 90% Hamlin blend, thegreen character value was 0.8. This was a statistically significantdifference. The P-Value was 0.04. For the blend of 30% Westin and 70%Hamlin and for the blend of 60% Westin and 40% Hamlin, the greencharacter value in each case was 1.0. There were no significantregressions for the blends.

EXAMPLE 7

The blends of Itaborai and Hamlin juices which are specified in Example5 were evaluated by the sensory panel using the descriptive sensoryanalysis. Each blend was compared with 100% Hamlin juice as the control.The addition of the Itaborai juice at all blend levels was found by thepanel to have a significant reduction in green character. For thecontrol, the green character value was 1.4. For the 10% Itaborai and 90%Hamlin blend, the green character value was 1.1. For the blend of 30%Itaborai and 70% Hamlin, the green character value was 1.0. For theblend of 60% Itaborai and 40% Hamlin, the green character value was 1.1.Each blend had a statistically significantly lower green character whencompared with the all-Hamlin control. The P-Value was 0.08. Bitternesssensory evaluations were 1.2 for the control, 1.1 for the 10% Itaborai,1.0 for the 30% Itaborai, and 1.3 for the 60% Itaborai. Bitterness wassignificantly lower with,30% Itaborai-juice in the blend. The P-Valuewas 0.03. There were no significant regressions for the blends.

EXAMPLE 8

The blends of Ruby Nucellar and Hamlin juices which are specified inExample 5 were evaluated by the sensory panel using the descriptivesensory analysis. Each blend was compared with 100% Hamlin juice as thecontrol.

The addition of the Ruby Nucellar juice was found by the panel todecrease the feeling factors characteristic with increasing RubyNucellar percent, which is a desirable effect. The feeling factorsvalues were 1.8, 1.8, 1.7 and 1.6 for the juices having 0%, 10%, 30% and60%, respectively, of Ruby Nucellar juice, the P-Value being 0.42.Regression analysis results for these data are shown in FIG. 13A, theObserved analysis and the Quadratic analysis being substantiallyidentical.

The addition of the Ruby Nucellar juice was found by the panel todecrease the sourness characteristic with increasing Ruby Nucellarpercent, which is a desirable effect. The sourness values were 4.0, 4.0,3.9 and 3.7 for the juices having 0%, 10%, 30% and 60%, respectively, ofRuby Nucellar juice, the P-Value being 0.41. Regression analysis resultsfor these data are shown in FIG. 13B.

The blends with 30% and 60% Ruby Nucellar juice had a significantreduction in green character. For the control, the green character valuewas 1.4. For the 10% Ruby Nucellar and 90% Hamlin blend, the greencharacter value was 1.0. For the blend of 30% Ruby Nucellar and 70%Hamlin, the green character value was 0.9. For the blend of 60% RubyNucellar and 40% Hamlin, the green character value was 0.8. The 30% and60% blends each had a statistically significantly lower green characterwhen compared with the all-Hamlin control. The P-Value was 0.02.

The blends with 10% and 30% Ruby Nucellar juice had a significantreduction in chemical notes. For the control, the chemical charactervalue was 1.0. For the 10% Ruby Nucellar and 90% Hamlin blend, thechemical character value was 0.6. For the blend of 30% Ruby Nucellar and70% Hamlin, the chemical character value was 0.6. For the blend of 60%Ruby Nucellar and 40% Hamlin, the chemical character value was 0.8. The10% and 30% blends each had a statistically significantly lower greencharacter when compared with the all-Hamlin control. The P-Value was0.01. Results of a regression analysis of these data are plotted in FIG.13C.

Microbiological character and cooked orange character increased withincreasing percent of Ruby Nucellar juice, which indicates there mayhave been some spoilage in the Ruby Nucellar base juice. Regressionanalyses of these data are shown in FIG. 13D and FIG. 13E, respectively.

EXAMPLE 9

The blends of Earlygold and Hamlin juices which are specified in Example5 were evaluated by the sensory panel using the descriptive sensoryanalysis. Each blend was compared with 100% Hamlin juice as the control.

The addition of the Earlygold juice was found by the panel to increasethe total orange characteristic with increasing Earlygold percentages,which is a desirable effect. The total orange values were 3.5, 3.5, 3.7and 3.8 for the juices having 0%, 10%, 30% and 60%, respectively, ofEarlygold juice, the P-Value being 0.10.

The addition of the Earlygold juice was found by the panel to decreasethe raw orange (fresh orange) characteristic at 10% and 30% Earlygold,while the raw orange characteristic was found to increase at 60%Earlygold juice in the blend. The raw orange values were 1.7, 1.6, 1.5and 1.8 for the juices having 0%, 10%, 30% and 60%, respectively, ofEarlygold juice, the P-Value being 0.24. Regression analysis results forthese data are shown in FIG. 14A, which indicates a positive raw orangesensory effect at somewhat less than 30% Earlygold juice in the blend.

The addition of the Earlygold juice was found by the panel to increasethe bitterness characteristic at 10% and 30% Earlygold, while thebitterness characteristic was found to decrease at 60% Earlygold juicein the blend. The bitterness values were 1.0, 1.2, 1.2 and 0.8 for thejuices having 0%, 10%, 30% and 60%, respectively, of Earlygold juice,the P-Value being-0.05. Regression analysis results for these data areshown in FIG. 14B, which indicates a positive bitterness sensory effectat somewhat less than 30% Earlygold juice in the blend.

It will be understood that the embodiments of the present inventionwhich have been described are illustrative of some of the applicationsof the principles of the present invention. Numerous modifications maybe made by those skilled in the art without departing from the truespirit and scope of the invention.

1. A method of preparing early season not from concentrate orange juice,comprising the steps of: harvesting a very early season orange cultivarhaving juice with early season color of greater intensity than Hamlinorange juice while also exhibiting sensory qualities superior to thesensory qualities of Hamlin orange juice, said harvesting step includingselecting a cultivar within the Seleta family of cultivars, a Westincultivar, a Ruby Nucellar cultivar, or a combination of these very earlyseason cultivars; extracting juice from a volume of said very earlyseason oranges of said harvesting step; collecting the resultingextracted orange juice as an early season orange juice having a ColorNumber of at least 33 CN units; and blending at least about 5 volumepercent, based on the total volume of the orange juice, of saidextracted early season orange juice with another orange juice source inorder to provide a not from concentrate orange juice product having anenhanced sensory profile and a Color Number in excess of 33 CN units. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein said harvesting step occurs in October orNovember in the Northern Hemisphere.
 3. The method of claim 1, whereinsaid blending step blends a stored orange juice as the another orangejuice source.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein said blending stepincorporates up to about 80 volume percent of said extracted orangejuice.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein said blending step providesearly season orange juice having a sensory green character which is lessthan that of Hamlin orange juice harvested at the time of saidharvesting step.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein said blending stepprovides early season orange juice having a sensory bitterness characterwhich is less than that of Hamlin orange juice harvested at the time ofsaid harvesting step.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein said blendingstep provides early season orange juice having a sensory feeling factorscharacter which is less than that of Hamlin orange juice harvested atthe time of said harvesting step.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein saidblending step provides early season orange juice having a sensorysourness character which is less than that of Hamlin orange juiceharvested at the time of said harvesting step.
 9. The method of claim 1,wherein said blending step provides early season orange juice having asensory chemical notes character which is less than that of Hamlinorange juice harvested at the time of said harvesting step.
 10. Themethod of claim 1, wherein said blending step provides early seasonorange juice having a sensory total orange character which is greaterthan that of Hamlin orange juice harvested at the time of saidharvesting step.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein said blending stepprovides early season orange juice having a sensory raw orange characterwhich is greater than that of Hamlin orange juice harvested at the timeof said harvesting step.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein saidcollecting step provides early season orange juice having a Color Numberof at least 1 CN greater than Hamlin orange juice harvested at the timeof said harvesting step.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein saidcultivar within the Seleta family is selected from the group consistingof Seleta Branca, Seleta Coroa-do-Rei, Seleta de Itaborai, SeletaVermelha, and combinations thereof.
 14. The method of claim 1, whereinsaid collecting step provides a juice having a Brix-to-acid ratio (BAR)during the months of October and November which meets or exceeds theOrange Fruit Maturity Standards of the Florida Department of Agriculture& Consumer Services.
 15. The method of claim 1, wherein: said blendingstep provides early season orange juice having a sensory green characterwhich is less than that of Hamlin orange juice harvested at the time ofsaid harvesting step; said collecting step provides a juice having aBrix-to-acid-ratio (BAR) during the months of October and November whichmeets or exceeds the Orange Fruit Maturity Standards of the FloridaDepartment of Agriculture & Consumer Services; and said collecting stepprovides early season orange juice having a Color Number of at least 1CN greater than Hamlin orange juice harvested at the time of saidharvesting step.
 16. A method of preparing not from concentrate orangejuice from oranges, comprising the steps of: harvesting fruit of a veryearly season orange cultivar having juice with sensory characteristicssuperior to juice extracted from Hamlin oranges and an early seasoncolor which has a Color Number which is at least about 1 CN greater thanthat of corresponding early season color of juice extracted from Hamlinoranges; extracting juice from a plurality of the very early seasonorange cultivar fruit of the harvesting step, said extracting occurringduring an extraction time period which is early in the orange growingseason; collecting the juice from the extracting step in order toprovide an orange juice source having a Color Number of at least 33 CNunits; and blending at least about 5 volume percent, based on the volumeof the orange juice, of said juice from the extracting step with anotherjuice in order to provide a not from concentrate orange juice producthaving a Color Number in excess of 33 CN units and a sensory profilesuperior to that of 100 percent Hamlin juice.
 17. The method of claim16, wherein said harvesting step occurs in October or November in theNorthern Hemisphere.
 18. The method of claim 16, wherein said blendingstep provides early season orange juice having a sensory green characterwhich is less than that of Hamlin orange juice harvested at the time ofsaid harvesting step.
 19. The method of claim 16, wherein said blendingstep provides early season orange juice having a sensory bitternesscharacter which is less than that of Hamlin orange juice harvested atthe time of said harvesting step.
 20. The method of claim 16, wherein:said blending step provides early season orange juice having a sensorygreen character which is less than that of Hamlin orange juice harvestedat the time of said harvesting step; said collecting step provides ajuice having a Brix-to-acid ratio (BAR) during the months of October andNovember which meets or exceeds the orange Fruit Maturity Standards ofthe Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services; and saidcollecting step provides early season orange juice having a Color Numberof at least 1 CN greater than Hamlin orange juice harvested at the timeof said harvesting step.
 21. The method of claim 16, wherein saidblending step blends a stored orange juice as the another orange juicesource.
 22. The method of claim 16, wherein said collecting stepprovides a juice having a Brix-to-acid ratio (BAR) during the months ofOctober and November which meets or exceeds the orange Fruit MaturityStandards of the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services.23. The method of claim 16, wherein said harvesting step selects acultivar having an early season color of at least about 2 CN greaterthan Hamlin orange juice of a corresponding harvest time.
 24. A methodof preparing not from concentrate orange juice from oranges, comprisingthe steps of: harvesting an orange cultivar fruit selected from thegroup consisting of Westin cultivars, Ruby Nucellar cultivars, Itaboraicultivars, and combinations thereof; extracting juice from a volume ofsaid orange cultivar fruit; collecting the resulting extracted orangejuice as an early season orange juice source having a Color Number of atleast 33 CN units; combining the extracted early season orange juicefrom said extracting step with another juice in order to provide a notfrom concentrate orange juice product having at least about 5 volumepercent of said early season orange juice, based on the total volume ofthe juice; and said not from concentrate orange juice has a sensorygreen character superior to that of said another juice.
 25. The methodof claim 24, wherein said combining step provides a not from concentrateorange juice product having a Color Number which is greater than 33 CNunits.
 26. The method of claim 24, wherein said harvesting step occursin October or November in the Northern Hemisphere.
 27. The method ofclaim 24, wherein said collecting step provides early season orangejuice having a Color Number of at least 1 CN greater than Hamlin orangejuice harvested at the time of said harvesting step.
 28. The method ofclaim 24, wherein said collecting step provides early season orangejuice having a Color Number of at least 2 CN greater than Hamlin orangejuice harvested at the time of said harvesting step.
 29. The method ofclaim 24, wherein said collecting step provides a juice having aBrix-to-acid ratio (BAR) during the months of October and November whichmeets or exceeds the Orange Fruit Maturity Standards of the FloridaDepartment of Agriculture & Consumer Services.
 30. A method of preparingnot from concentrate orange juice from oranges, comprising the steps of:harvesting fruit of an orange cultivar which provides juice during themonths of October and November having a sensory profile superior to thatof juice provided by Hamlin oranges during the months of October andNovember, respectively, and having a Color Number which is more intensethan juice provided by Hamlin oranges during the months of October andNovember, respectively; extracting juice from the orange cultivar of theselecting step, said extracting occurring during an extraction timeperiod which is very early in the orange harvesting season; collectingthe juice from the extracting step in order to provide an orange juicesource having a Color Number of at least 33 CN units; and blending saidjuice from the extracting step with another juice in order to provide anorange juice product having a sensory profile superior to that of saidHamlin juice and a color value in excess of 33 CN units.
 31. The methodin accordance with claim 30, wherein said collecting step provides ajuice having a Brix-to-acid ratio (BAR) values during the months ofOctober and November which meets or exceed the Orange Fruit MaturityStandards of the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services.32. The method in accordance with claim 30, wherein said collecting stepprovides a juice having a Brix value which meets or exceeds the minimumtotal solids requirement during the months of October and November ofthe Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, and thisjuice of said collecting step provides a Brix-to-acid ratio (BAR) duringthe months of October and November which meets or exceeds the OrangeFruit Maturity Standards of the Florida Department of Agriculture &Consumer Services for BAR during the months of October and November. 33.The method of claim 30, wherein said collecting step provides earlyseason orange juice having a Color Number of at least 1 CN greater thanHamlin orange juice,harvested at the time of said harvesting step. 34.The method of claim 30, wherein said collecting step provides earlyseason orange juice having a Color Number of at least 2 CN greater thanHamlin orange juice harvested at the time of said harvesting step. 35.The method of claim 30, wherein said blending step provides a producthaving a Color Number of at least about 35 CN units.
 36. The method ofclaim 30, wherein: said blending step provides early season orange juicehaving a sensory green character which is less than that of Hamlinorange juice harvested at the time of said harvesting step; saidcollecting step provides a juice having a Brix-to-acid ratio (BAR)during the months of October and November which meets or exceeds theOrange Fruit Maturity Standards of the Florida Department of Agriculture& Consumer Services; and said collecting step provides early seasonorange juice having a Color Number of at least 1 CN greater than Hamlinorange juice harvested at the time of said harvesting step.
 37. A notfrom concentrate orange juice prepared in accordance with a processcomprising the steps of: harvesting a very early season orange cultivarhaving juice with early season color of greater intensity than Hamlinorange juice while also exhibiting sensory qualities superior to thesensory qualities of Hamlin orange juice, said harvesting step includingselecting a cultivar within the Seleta family of cultivars, a Westincultivar, a Ruby Nucellar cultivar, or a combination of these very earlyseason cultivars; extracting juice from a volume of said very earlyseason oranges of said harvesting step; collecting the resultingextracted orange juice as an early season orange juice having a ColorNumber of at least 33 CN units; and blending at least about 5 volumepercent, based on the total volume of the juice, of said extracted earlyseason orange juice with another orange juice source in order to providea not from concentrate orange juice product having a Color Number inexcess of 33 CN units and sensory qualities which are superior to saidanother orange juice source.
 38. The orange juice of claim 37, whereinsaid very early season orange cultivars are harvested in October. 39.The orange juice of claim 37, wherein said very early season orangecultivars are harvested in November.
 40. The orange juice of claim 37,wherein said extracted early season orange juice comprises up to about80 volume percent of the not from concentrate juice.
 41. The orangejuice of claim 37, wherein said extracted early season orange juice hasa Color Number which is at least 1 CN greater than Hamlin orange juice.42. The orange juice of claim 37, wherein: said early season orangejuice has a sensory green character which is less than that of Hamlinorange juice harvested at the time of said harvesting step; said juicehas a Brix-to-acid ratio (BAR) during the months of October and Novemberwhich meets or exceeds the orange Fruit Maturity Standards of theFlorida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services; and said earlyseason orange juice has a Color Number of at least 1 CN greater thanHamlin orange juice harvested at the time of said harvesting step. 43.The orange juice of claim 37, wherein said early season orange juice hasa Brix value which meets or exceeds the minimum total solids requirementduring the months of October and November of the Florida Department ofAgriculture & Consumer Services, and this juice of said collecting stepprovides a Brix-to-acid ratio (BAR) during the months of October andNovember which meets or exceeds the Orange Fruit Maturity Standards ofthe Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services for BAR duringthe months of October and November.
 44. A not from concentrate orangejuice prepared in accordance with a process comprising the steps of:harvesting fruit of a very early season orange cultivar having juicewith an early season color which has a Color Number which is at leastabout 1 CN greater than that of corresponding early season color ofjuice extracted from Hamlin oranges, while also exhibiting sensoryqualities superior to the sensory qualities of Hamlin orange juice, saidsuperior sensory qualities including a reduced green character;extracting juice from a plurality of the very early season orangecultivar of the harvesting step, said extracting occurring during anextraction time period which is early in the orange growing season;collecting the juice from the extracting step in order to provide anorange juice source having a Color Number of at least 33 CN units; andblending at least about 5 volume percent of said juice from theextracting step with another juice in order to provide a not fromconcentrate orange juice product having a Color Number in excess of 33CN units and improved sensory characteristics.
 45. A not fromconcentrate orange juice composition comprising a blend of: at leastabout 1 percent by volume of an orange juice supply, based upon thetotal volume of the composition; up to about 99 volume percent of a veryearly season fresh orange juice, based upon the total volume of thecomposition, said very early season juice having a sensory profilesuperior to that of 100 percent Hamlin orange juice from fruit harvestedat about the same time as fruit from which said very early season juiceoriginates; and said fruit from which the very early season fresh orangejuice originates is an early season round orange cultivar selected fromthe group consisting of a cultivar within the Seleta family ofcultivars, a Westin cultivar, a Ruby Nucellar cultivar, or a combinationof these early season cultivars.
 46. The composition of claim 45,wherein said orange juice supply comprises at least about 10 percent byvolume, and said very early season fresh juice comprises up to about 90percent by volume.
 47. The composition of claim 45, wherein said orangejuice supply comprises at least about 20 percent by volume, and saidvery early season fresh juice comprises up to about 80 percent byvolume.
 48. The composition of claim 45, wherein: said very early seasonorange juice has a sensory green character which is less than that ofthe 100 percent Hamlin orange juice; said juice has a Brix-to-acid ratio(BAR) during the months of October and November which meets or exceedsthe Orange Fruit Maturity Standards of the Florida Department ofAgriculture & Consumer Services; and said very early season orange juicehas a Color Number of at least 1 CN greater than the 100 percent Hamlinorange juice.
 49. The composition of claim 45, wherein said blend has asensory green character which is less than that of the 100 percentHamlin orange juice.
 50. The composition of claim 45, wherein said blendhas a sensory bitterness character which is less than that of the 100percent Hamlin orange juice.
 51. The composition of claim 45, whereinsaid orange juice supply is Hamlin orange juice.
 52. The composition ofclaim 45, wherein said very early season juice is juice from Westinorange cultivars.
 53. The composition of claim 45, wherein said veryearly season juice is juice from Itaborai orange cultivars.
 54. Thecomposition of claim 45, wherein said very early season juice is juicefrom Ruby Nucellar orange cultivars.
 55. The composition of claim 45,wherein said very early season juice is juice from orange cultivars ofthe Seleta family.
 56. A method of preparing an orange juice productincorporating an early season orange cultivar, comprising the steps of:harvesting a very early season orange cultivar having juice with earlyseason color of greater intensity than Hamlin orange juice while alsoexhibiting sensory qualities superior to the sensory qualities of Hamlinorange juice, said harvesting step including selecting a cultivar withinthe Seleta family of cultivars, or a combination of these very earlyseason cultivars; extracting juice from a volume of said very earlyseason oranges of said harvesting step; collecting the resultingextracted orange juice as an early season orange juice having a ColorNumber of at least 33 CN units; and blending at least about 5 volumepercent, based on the total volume of the orange juice, of saidextracted early season orange juice with another orange juice sourcein-order to provide an orange juice product having an enhanced sensoryprofile and a Color Number in excess of 33 CN units.
 57. The method ofclaim 56, wherein said blending step blends a stored orange juice as theanother orange juice source.
 58. The method of claim 56, wherein saidblending step incorporates up to about 80 volume percent of saidextracted orange juice.
 59. The method of claim 56, wherein saidcultivar within the Seleta family is selected from the group consistingof Seleta Branca, Seleta Coroa-do-Rei, Seleta de Itaborai, SeletaVermelha, and combinations thereof.
 60. The method of claim 56, wherein:said blending step provides early season orange juice having a sensorygreen character which is less than that of Hamlin orange juice harvestedat the time of said harvesting step; said collecting step provides ajuice having a Brix-to-acid ratio (BAR) during the months of October andNovember which meets or exceeds the orange Fruit Maturity Standards ofthe Florida Department of Agriculture & consumer Services; and saidcollecting step provides early season orange juice having a Color Numberof at least 1 CN greater than Hamlin orange juice harvested at the timeof said harvesting step.
 61. The method of claim 56, wherein saidharvesting step selects a cultivar having an early season color of atleast about 2 CN greater than Hamlin orange juice of a correspondingharvest time.
 62. The method of claim 56, wherein said blending stepprovides a product having a Color Number of at least about 35 CN units.63. An orange juice prepared in accordance with a process comprising thesteps of: harvesting fruit of a very early season orange cultivar of theSeleta family of cultivars, said cultivar having juice with an earlyseason color which has a Color Number which is at least about 1 CNgreater than that of corresponding early season color of juice extractedfrom Hamlin oranges, while also exhibiting sensory qualities superior tothe sensory qualities of Hamlin orange juice, said superior sensoryqualities including a reduced green character; extracting juice from aplurality of the very early season orange cultivar of the harvestingstep, said extracting occurring during an extraction time period whichis early in the orange growing season; collecting the juice from theextracting step in order to provide an orange,juice source having aColor Number of at least 33 CN units; and blending at least about 5volume percent of said juice from the extracting step with another juicein order to provide a not from concentrate orange juice product having aColor Number in excess of 33 CN units and improved sensorycharacteristics.
 64. An orange juice composition comprising a blend of:at least about 1 percent by volume of an orange juice supply, based uponthe total volume of the composition; up to about 99 volume percent of avery early season orange juice supply, based upon the total volume ofthe composition, said very early season juice having a sensory profilesuperior to that of 100 percent Hamlin orange juice from fruit harvestedat about the same time as fruit from which said very early season juiceoriginates; and said fruit from which the very early season fresh orangejuice originates is an early season round orange cultivar selected fromwithin the Seleta family of cultivars, or a combination of these earlyseason cultivars.
 65. The composition of claim 64, wherein said orangejuice supply comprises at least about 10 percent by volume, and saidvery early season juice comprises up to about 90 percent by volume. 66.The composition of claim 64, wherein said orange juice supply comprisesat least about 20 percent by volume, and said very early season juicecomprises up to about 80 percent by volume.
 67. The composition of claim64, wherein: said very early season orange juice has a sensory greencharacter which is less than that of the 100 percent Hamlin orangejuice; said juice has a Brix-to-acid ratio (BAR) during the months ofOctober and November in the Northern Hemisphere which meets or exceedsthe Orange Fruit Maturity Standards of the Florida Department ofAgriculture & Consumer Services; and said very early season orange juicehas a Color Number of at least 1 CN greater than the 100 percent Hamlinorange juice.
 68. The composition of claim 64, wherein said orange juicesupply is Hamlin orange juice.